Keep Moving Forward
by LegalWrights
Summary: Rather than rewriting the events of Volume 3's finale, it's best to keep moving forward. It's best to accept what has happened, and Yang must do the same. A spiritual successor to 'Running' and will follow the same story.
1. Kindred Spirits

Yang was curled up in a ball in her bed. She couldn't sleep, she refused to eat, and she wouldn't move. At all. Tai sighed outside the door. With Ruby having gone off, he almost went after her. He felt like he should have, but Qrow would handle that. Birds are faster than most people, last time he checked. That meant he got to deal with the brooding blondie.

He poked his head around the corner before grunting. "Why do I always get the hard job?" He sighed awkwardly, moving to knock on the door.

"Gee, thanks dad."

He turned bright red and pushed it open. "...You heard that didn't you?" The prone teenager gave a small nod, refusing to look up at him. He sighed and stepped in, hands in his pockets. Well shit, this could only go poorly. "Look, hon, I didn't mean it like that."

Yang struggled awkwardly to pull up the blanket, given her new one armed predicament. Tai clicked his tongue and paced the room. "So..." He looked around the room, the one Yang had grown up in. Her desk that she'd used for drafting as a child was kept in perfect condition. He'd made sure it would stay that way. Her remaining Ember Celica sat, covered in dust. That bothered him. Immensely.

Normally, Yang would never let a weapon she was so proud of fall to such a state. A weapon she had built years ago when she'd decided to attend Signal. He shook the thoughts from his head and pulled the chair out from the desk. He walked over to the side of his baby girl's bed and turned it about, sitting down on it and leaning forward onto what should be the back of the chair. "Yang, you can't just lay around all day and expect everything to get better."

To his surprise, she answered him. "Why not? It's not like I can do anything else with my fucking life..."

Tai clicked his tongue. "Ah ah ah! Mouth, young lady!" He chuckled. Yang did not. Fuck, this is really bad. "Really, you're not gonna fight me?" No answer. At all. He exhaled slowly, rubbing his nose a bit. "Ya know, I did this once." He blinked. "Twice, actually."

The newly crippled blonde snorted. "Yeah, I was there. You're welcome for raising your daughter, by the way." She grunted and buried her head in her pillow. Tai barely heard what came next. "I raised both of them..."

Tai practically winced. That one hurt, but he couldn't even try to debate it. In his eyes at least, he'd been a shitty fucking father. He hadn't done any of the things he should have. He could have gone to Yang's gauntlet demonstration for her weaponsmithing classes. He didn't. He could have helped Ruby train with her scythe. He didn't. He could have taught Yang better martial arts, hell she might have kept her arm if he had. And yet? He didn't. It just hurt to much to do at the time, he couldn't look at either of them.

Especially when Yang used her semblance. The day she unlocked it, it ripped a hole in his art. Those piercing red eyes, the same ones Raven used to have. The ones he'd fallen in love with. Shrouded in mystery and burning with passion, the eyes that were two of a kind. Four, actually, as of the day Yang came into this world.

"I'm not denying that." He said finally, shaking his head. "You're a lot stronger than me. Like...a lot stronger. I couldn't even make myself stand up, and instead of worrying about it, you forced yourself through life, and made it easier for your little sister." He tried to force himself not to tear up. "When I wasn't around, I was being a really, really shitty father."

Nothing. He hadn't expected much yet. "But...that's why you have to stand up Yang. That's why you need to get back on the horse. You're a better person, a better hunter, and a better friend than I ever was. To anyone." He stood up, moving the chair to try and get to a position where he could see Yang's face, but she wouldn't let him. Figures.

"You're a wonderful girl Yang, and I have no clue what I did to have Oum bless me with a child like you. But right now, you're not being that beautiful baby girl." He shook his head as he gave up, for today at least. He moved the chair back to its spot under the desk.

"If you won't get up for yourself or for me, do it for Ruby. Do it for your friends." He leaned against the door frame, watching for any reaction he could get from her. "What about the heiress? Weiss, right? The Schnee kid?" Nothing there. Well, great.

"She fought real hard to stay with you and Ruby. Real hard." He started tapping his fingers on the wall. Tai had always been a very impatient man. Whether it was training with team STRQ, fighting against the Grimm and his enemies, or even in his relationships. Maybe if he'd learned to be more patient Raven would still be here.

Maybe Summer would still be alive.

"How do you think she would react if she found out you were just laying in bed all day?" Tai asked, crossing his arms. He was genuinely curious what Yang thought of her teammates. Maybe Yang and Weiss but heads like he and Qrow used to do? They seemed the type.

"She'd tell me to stop wasting time." Tai practically jumped when he heard the quiet little response. He wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly. "...And she'd probably start questioning you about whether our ability to do so is genetic or not." She sighed, clutching the sheets tighter. So he was making progress! Excellent!

"What about the uh, the other one? Tall, dark hair, I saw her in the pictures with you guys." The room became significantly more heated. Tai blinked and stepped back just barely, waving off the heat.

"What about her?!" The sudden growl came from the bed. "I jump in, I fucking save her, and she runs off!" She sat up and whirled around, giving Tai the most devastating glare he'd seen since he'd proposed to Raven. "I give EVERYTHING for her and what does she do? Sprints off in whatever fucking direction with a hole in her chest! She's probably fucking dead!"

Tai's gaze shot to the floor as he exhaled. "That sounds so familiar..." He said, shaking his head. "Then don't you owe it to yourself to find out?" Yang's eyes faded from red to lilac, widening slightly. Fear? Sadness? Tai had never been amazing at reading emotion. Something else he desperately relied on Summer for during her life.

"If you want to talk Yang, I'm around." He said, nodding. "But...take some time to think. Trust me, you need it. I've been there." As he turned to leave the room, he stopped in the hallway, listening carefully. The head dissipated around him as Yang's rage faded, and the softest sound of weeping came from the room. It hurt so much to walk away, but he knew she had to get that out of her system before she'd be willing to talk. She was his daughter after all. No DNA test required there.


	2. Good Morning, Sunshine

Tai sat himself at the breakfast table the next morning. Nice bowl of Pumpkin Pete's to start off the day, always helpful. Gives you the confidence to tackle the day with optimism! Maybe sit about for a bit and contemplate life while you're at it. Really adds to the experience, honestly. He took a bite of his cereal, staring out the kitchen window and into the cold winter morning.

He was lost in thought looking out the window when Yang stumbled into the room. Tai practically leaped out of his seat. He wasn't prepared for Yang to be moving, much less walking. Well, she was more stumbling, really. She rubbed her eyes, looking just as terrible as the night before. Her hair was a little greasy, her pajamas were dirty, and she looked malnourished. What a shock, she just hadn't eaten in a few days, right?

Tai quickly went to pour her a bowl of cereal. "Well, good morning there sleeping dragon." He said with a chuckle. Then he got a bit more serious. "Did you give some thought to what I told you yesterday?" Yang didn't answer and instead suddenly reached out, grabbing his arm. "...What? Did I say something?"

Yang shook her head and took the box from him. "No. I just...I can do it." She said, shaking her unsteady arm over the bowl. He nodded and sat back, smiling. Whatever it was, something had gotten through to Yang last night. Maybe it was him, maybe it wasn't. But she was coming back to him, one way or another. "FUCK."

Tai sat up quickly, jarred out of his thoughts. "WHO WHAT WHY" then he saw Yang dart to the floor, trying to clean the mess she'd made. Apparently her arm wasn't very steady after so long in bed, and she'd dropped the box, spilling Pumpkin Pete's everywhere. Tai laughed. "Yang, I've got it. Sit down." He walked to the nearby closet and grabbed the broom and dustpan, getting to work on the mess she'd made.

After a quick glance at the bowl, she'd definitely managed to get enough into it for her breakfast, so he'd just take the liberty of pouring some milk in there for her. Maybe make her some coffee- on second thought maybe not. Hot liquid isn't the best thing to put in the hands of someone liable to drop things.

"...Daddy?" He blinked and looked down at her. She hadn't called him that in...years. Not since she was maybe 8. Hell, maybe even younger? "Can I have some coffee? Please?" Well scratch any thought he'd had of avoiding it. There was no way he could tell her no. Not right now.

"Sure thing, Firecracker." He said, rubbing her head lovingly. He stepped away from the table and back toward the pot of coffee he'd brewed a few minutes ago, pouring Yang her own cup. "2 sugars, little milk, right kiddo?"

He checked over his shoulder just in time to see Yang nod as she stared at the box in front of her. "Pyrrha..." Sure enough, the redhead hero was plastered on the cover, looking awkward as ever. That girl may have been a legend when it came to fighting, but some people are not meant to stand in front of a camera. She was definitely one of them.

Tai cursed himself under his breath for not thinking of that and carried Yang her cup, causing her to promptly put the box down and take it, thanking her father for it as she shakily put it onto the table. Tai sat across from her and clicked his tongue. "So, do you wanna talk?" Yang shook her head. "That's fine. If you want any help with the cup or with the spoon, just ask."

The two of them sat together and ate breakfast. Yang was a bit shaky, but all in all she could still work a spoon. That much was important, at least it meant she would be able to eat. Tai watched her carefully as she raised the coffee to her lips. "Good stuff?" He asked casually, and she nodded. Just how she liked it, good. He remembered.

The two sat in silence for a while, Tai reading up on what was going on in Vale the old fashioned way...a news paper. Fucking barbaric, but with the CCT down, you can't exactly get news anywhere else. So instead of just pulling up his scroll, he'd have to go out into the now Grimm infested wilderness to Patch just to get a newspaper. Talk about way too much effort.

"Hey, Dad?" Tai looked up from the newspaper, Yang was tapping her fingers on the table in front of her. She'd finished up her cereal, which was a good sign to say the least. "When you were talking about owing it to myself to find Blake last night...did you mean like...when you never went after Mom?"

That one came out of left field...and kinda hit like a truck. "I gave up when Raven left us, Yang." He said with a sigh. "And every single night, I lay awake wondering why I didn't go after her. I wonder why I didn't take the opportunity to track her down. Maybe I thought she was trying to cut us loose. Or that maybe she thought we were too weak, or just a waste of her time. Those thoughts are scary when it's your wife, you know?"

Yang nodded, clearly a bit distressed. Even to someone as dense as Tai. "So...now I have to go find Blake. At least for the sake of peace of mind." She said, clutching the table cloth tightly.

Tai nodded with a smile. "I'd say so. Yeah. I'll help you get back into shape, maybe teach you some moves you can do with one arm, and then we can go out looking for her together, okay?" Yang looked up at him as if she were about to protest, but he silenced her with a raised hand. "Yang, I wasn't there to help you all the time when you were little. I'm going to make up for that now."

"I'm not going to miss this."


	3. Seeing Red

The next two weeks passed with no issue. Yang was spending time with her father in the training room, hitting at the bag as best she could. She was going to learn to fight with one arm if it killed her, but luckily Yang was a quick learner. Tai's moves were just variations of the ones she had already learned, but modified to fit a new stance, one she could hold without knocking herself halfway over. That should be enough...right? "Dad, when are we gonna go and get Blake back?!" She asked suddenly, standing up at the table.

Tai looked up at her, fork halfway to his mouth. "...Soon, why?" He seemed very nonchalant about it, and Yang gave him a glare. The red kind. He sighed and finished his bite of steak. "Yang, I know you're anxious, but we can't rush something like this. It's even more dangerous out there than it was, and you're still far from 100%." Her father scratched his chin. "Honestly I'd say you're...what, 80? 85%? I dunno, how much do you figure an arm is?"

He laughed, and for once Yang cracked a smile, even if the red in her eyes didn't let up for a second. "See? I can still make you smile, I saw that." Yang quickly hid her mouth and groaned, leaning on her arm out of laziness. "Tell you what, if rehabilitation goes well, we can make our move out next week, alright?" That was the last thing she'd expected to hear. Next week? Already? She slowly nodded and went back to eating her steak, which seemed to satisfy Tai for now.

A beowolf howled in the distance, drawing Yang from her thoughts to the dinner she'd eaten earlier that evening. It was about 11 pm now, and Tai was hopefully already asleep. He'd been waking up very early to get everything set up for Yang, so he'd been going to sleep early as well. And she appreciated it. She was sat at her old drafting desk, desperately trying to scribble together a letter for him, and while a letter was squiggled every now and again with her non-dominant hand, it was probably still prettier than Ruby's handwriting. Half of what she wrote just looked like some alien language.

"Dad,

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the last few days we've shared together. For once, I really felt like your daughter again, and it's a feeling I've missed immensely. It's a feeling I never thought I'd feel again, something I thought I was just too old for. But I guess I'll never outgrow you."

She thought for a moment and smiled.

"Truth be told, some days I really wish I could. You have no idea how much those puns drive Blake and Weiss crazy. It's the curse of that Xiao Long wit, I tell you! It's cursed!"

She chuckled, realized she was getting off track and got back to work on the main point.

"But...I need to go and find Blake. Alone. I know you've got your heart set on helping me, and I love you. I appreciate that. But I just can't have you help me with this one. I'll be back soon, I hope. Probably with our new house cat. Try not to burn the place down while I'm gone. Peace out, Daddy-O.

-Yang"

She looked it over, making sure it was all legible before folding it up and placing it on the kitchen table. With her last remaining weapon strapped to her wrist and a backpack over her shoulder, she stepped out of the house in her favorite brown jacket and some jeans. It was cold after all, the shorts wouldn't cut it out here.

She walked for what felt like days, but could only have been hours based on the fact that it was still dark. She shuffled along through the snow, flailing at branches and bushes as she passed them, trying to force her way through. When it came to traveling, Yang wasn't one for subtlety. She'd left that to Blake, always had. So she shouldn't have been surprised when she saw them.

Those eyes. Those piercing red eyes. Just like when she was little. This time though, it was different. Sure she had one less arm, sure Uncle Qrow wasn't there to save her again, but this time she didn't need them. Neither one. She activated her gauntlet and stared back at those red eyes with her own. "I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore." She growled, dropping her bag on the snowy forest floor.

She inhaled deeply and scanned the clearing. She counted 5 beowolves, as best she could tell. Normally not a problem, so this would be a good test of her studying under Tai. A good test of her new stance. A good test of her determination. The wolves roared and sprung forward, swiping at her wildly. Yang ducked the first one and threw a punch at its throat. That's the beowolf's weak point, after all. Their arms are awkward, like a dog's front legs, which means they can't properly protect their chest and throat. That's what makes them easy targets.

The wolf screeched and was launched into the air. If she was lucky, it wouldn't come back down. She felt claws trying to sink into her back and was pushed forward, protected by her aura. "Oh, you want some too?!" She screamed, turning to face it. The beowolf roared at her, obviously viewing her as an easy target. To be fair, up until recently, he would have been oh so very right. "Fine! Bring it!" She screamed, sprinting at it. She went to swing, but quickly threw herself off balance. Not having that extra...say...18 lbs? That was becoming an issue. Now on the ground, the wolf positioned itself on top of her, trying to chomp its way through her aura.

Yang's hair roared itself ablaze as her semblance activated. The snow around her began to melt steadily as she struggled. "Get the hell off of me you mangy mutt!" She squeaked out, kicking it hard in the stomach and launching it into the air a few feet. As it came back down, she hopped to her feet, swinging directly at its head as it came down and into a nice black splatter to coat the white snow.

She turned to the other three wolves, panting. This wasn't going incredibly, but it was going as she'd expected. They were sprinting at her, and she was ready for them. Then something surprising happened. They all fell as the sound of steel meeting bone rang through the air. They slid through the snow, stopping at Yang's feet, one beautiful slash through their backs, made by a sword.

Yang looked up and all she saw was red. Pure, unbridled fury. Adam. She screamed bloody murder, sprinting forward at the black cloaked man. This time, she wouldn't aim for the torso. She wouldn't aim to disable. His head was coming clean off this time.


	4. The Bull of Nightmare

Yang had lunged forward. She didn't think things through much, did she? Adam silently stepped to the side as she skid through the snow, trying to scramble to her feet, hoisting herself up on her right ar- oh. Shit. Right. She flopped awkwardly into the snow, only to be enraged even further as the snow around her turned to steam. "Just hold still!" She screamed, running forward again, channeling all of her rage into a strike, which quickly impaled a tree trunk. Like wet paper, really.

She looked around, no sign of Adam anywhere. "That's right! Run you coward!" She screamed, moving to pull her fist out of the tree. She'd gone clear through to the other side, but the tree itself was still relatively intact. Which meant her arm was stuck at about the bicep. "...Great."

She growled and started tugging at it, unable to yank herself free. Figures. Normally if something like this happened with a wall or something, she'd just push back with her other arm. Now though? She didn't have that luxury. She groaned and tugged awkwardly at it, raising up a boot to the tree. "Come on..."

She thought she heard movement behind her. Shit. Adam. She looked up at the red shining over her shoulder, quickly yanking at her arm. Her last remaining one- oh no. No, no, not again. Phantom pains shot through her arm as panic set in. She was terrified, truly terrified, and that's when she heard a shotgun blast. One she hadn't expected. When she looked up…

The Ursa fell forward, its red eyes glowing in the darkness. Behind it stood a familiar Faunus, with shaggy blonde hair and a monkey's tail. Rather than his usual open shirt, he wore a fur jacket...open. Of course. "Hey, you seem like you have a bit of a...situation going on here." He said with a chuckle, whipping around his Jingu-Bang back forward, and back into its traveling form. Broken down, and slipped into his belt.

Yang blushed, unwilling to acknowledge what had just happened. "I...shut up." She grunted. Sun just chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "C'mon. Let's save you from the tree, alright?" It was awkward for about a second, but Sun was all business as hes started tugging against the thick wood holding her arm captive. With their combined efforts, Yang's arm came loose and they flopped backward into the snow, watching as the tree fell forward safely.

They sat like that in the snow for a few seconds before Sun started to laugh. Awkwardly at first, as if to break the silence, then he gradually began to laugh harder. That got a blush out of Yang, which caused him to stop suddenly. "Hey, you okay? You aren't usually the bashful type."

Yang shook her head rapidly. "Why are you out here?" She asked suddenly, trying to change the subject. Sun simply raised an eyebrow, standing up and stretching. "Nice to see you too..." He mumbled. "If you must know, I'm on the search for one of my own. A fellow Faunus. Perhaps you've seen her? About yay tall..." He held up a hand, about to his shoulder. "Cute little cat ears, dresses in enough black to probably terrify her mom, sound familiar to you?"

Yang felt her face get hot. Of course Sun would be looking for Blake. But...then is she out here? "So what, you're wandering around alone looking for her?" The idea seemed...odd. Out of character for Sun. He wasn't much of a loner, even if he wanted to he couldn't escape those bumbling friends of his. He waved off the idea with a dismissive gesture.

"Nah, I'm not that stupid. I brought Scarlet, Sage and Neptune." He said the word stupid as if to prove a point. Like being out alone at this hour with the current circumstances would be suicide. Oh wait, it basically was. Yang must have zoned out for a while, when she snapped back to it, Sun was already walking into the darkness of the trees. "Here, c'mon. We have camp set up this way." She blinked and started to follow, quickly losing track of him. She lit her hair up with her semblance, scanning the trees for him. "...Sun?"

A rustling came from next to her, Sun appearing from the darkness. "...Sorry. I always forget you guys can't see in the dark like I can." He said with an apologetic smirk. Yang nodded and followed him. Wait, Sun could see in the dark? All this time Yang had thought that was just a Blake thing. Like a cat, she would be able to see in the darkness like broad daylight. So that was just a faunus thing then? Was it racist to not know that?

The darkness eventually gave way to a small light, a fire in a clearing. Planted next to it was Scarlet, barely visible under the red coat that covered him. He looked up when he saw Yang approaching, genuine surprise on his face. "Yang?"

She waved awkwardly, a bit of a shuffle coming from the nearby tent. Sage's head emerged from the folds, blinking as he saw her. He gave a nod of acknowledgment and went back inside. "He's kinda quiet." Sun said, plopping himself down next to Scarlet, warming his hands at the fire. "You aren't though. You were making a lot of noise out there, freaked out poor little baby David here."

Sun gave Scarlet a small elbow to the side, much to the Hunstman's irritation. "She didn't freak me out..." He grunted, taking a sip from the cup he held under his coat. Yang couldn't quite tell what it was, but it was warm. Sun kicked back against the tree behind him. "Oh really?"

Suddenly the monkey faunus stood up, time for a dramatic reenactment clearly. "Sun! Sun, help! There's sounds coming from the woods! Someone's fighting out there!" He adjusted his stance, planting his foot on a nearby stump, likely slashed over by Sage to make a clearing for the campsite. "And thus, the brave Sun Wukong scoured the wilderness for the source of the noise that caused his teammates such terror and exhaustion. And he came across a fair maiden, dressed in-" He opened one of his eyes to check what Yang was wearing. "...Mostly black."

To be fair, a leather jacket and jeans didn't give Sun much to work with in his epic tale. How sad. "Speaking of wearing black, I take it you're looking for Blake too?" He asked, leaning against his knee. Yang nodded slowly, exhaling as Scarlet turned to the tent. Maybe her fight with the beowolves, and apparently an Ursa, had managed to wake him?

"Yeah..." She whispered, looking down at the fire. She used to remind herself a lot of fire, and not just through the heat she gave off. She was volatile, excitable, difficult to contain, but full of life. Now part of that was gone. Blake had taken it with her, and Adam had chopped off whatever was left of it. Speaking of which.

"Did you scare off Adam or something?" She asked with a smirk. Sun's expression changed to one of confusion. "...You know, Adam? Didn't Blake tell you about him? Ex-Creepster, pure edge incarnate? Like..."

Sun held up a hand. "I know who you're talking about Yang. I'm just...clueless as to what." He sat himself down on the stump and Yang looked at him like he'd insulted her. "You know, Adam. He attacked me in the woods."

Sun shook his head. "It was just you and the Grimm out there, Yang. I didn't see anyone else."

She stared at him in disbelief. "You had to have. You can't miss him. He showed up and attacked me!" This was starting to sound really familiar to her. Was this like back in the fight with Mercury…? Was she just seeing things…?


End file.
